Category: Geeks r Us
Is it possible to write scripts for VocalEyes as it is for WindowEyes? I know I'm not ready for it yet, but I need to know for the future, when I come across inaccessible software. If anyone's worked with Provox, particularly on the programming level, is it a difficult screenreader to modify? It's been made available as open sourse software so that's why I'm asking. Also, is JAWS for DOS scriptable? Finally, is it possible to tell why a particular piece of software is inaccesssible, even if you can't make a script for it? Thanks.
Scripts must be written into software to make them accessible. I think you can do scripts for jaws for dos. You should just be able to look up the source code in the program. I'm not that familiar with window eyes and the other as I have only used them a little, so I'm not sure on scripting for those.
Scripting for JAWS is shit. The reason why it is shit is because you're tied down to a priparitary (or how ever you spell that) piece of scripting to learn. For Window eyes, you can use what ever you want. Python, Java, probably PHP, you name it, you can probably can use it.
Thanks, but I was asking about JAWS for DOS and VocalEyes not JFW and WindowEyes. I just used those two cause I know that you can write scripts/set files for them and wanted to know if you could do that with their older counterparts.
Well, no, you can]t, definitely not if QBaisc is all you know, .net
would give you some options with Window Eyes, but that is it.
And .net does not opffer you a QBasic possibility, thank the light.
Hi Tiffanitsa,
Why not work on Orca or Speakup for GNU/Linux or Unix? Orca is written in Python if I'm not mistaken, unsure what Speakup is written in. I'd say stay with current technology since DOS isn't really accessible as you well know, while GNU/Linux or Unix is. The distros that I know have Orca and speakup are Fedora moddified, Ubuntu though you have to install it from source, Gentoo, FreeBSD has Orca, not speakup. You could also work on Mac OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard. That has Voice Over and there are apps that you could script for it as well, since not everything is accessible. Just some advice.
I'm not touching Linux/Unix. Too complicated even as a general user. I'm not working on these things professionally. I just wanted to know incase I ever really did become good at programming. I might be able to offer some screenreader updates or scripts for those of us using DOSS, or at the very least, for myself. But no one's told me if it's even possible and if so, what languages would I need to learn?
You don't want to use linux, but just about every day I log in here, I see a new question from you about how do I do this, what is this, what do I need to do this for doss? Heres a thought, why not try ubuntu, or knopix, and see how you like it. Not only that, but if oyu have questions, a simple google search will, 9 times out of 10, give you the answer you' are looking for.
And like i said, get Vmware and install it in there! Simple!
You're right about certain things and I do admit that I should look more. But some of these questions are either related to accessibility of certain products or to other blind tech, and many times, that info simply isn't available. And while I may play with it one day, just to see what the fuss is about, I really have no intention of installing linux, especially after seeing all kinds of shit that has to be compiled etc. I like to get a program and install it and have it work. I'm not really interested in learning a whole new operating system with completely different commands etc. Yes, I did learn Leopard, but it was from a gui interface.
Hi Tiffanitsa,
You say that you have to compile everything in GNU/Linux, that is usually not true. I will admit that the distro I mentioned Gentoo is one of those that you can compile everything on, but that is done for a very specific purpose. In my case, if I use Gentoo it will be because I need it, and I feel that I can deal with its issues as they come up. Orca is for the GNOME desktop. It works better in some distros than it does in others. I know in most Linux distros, the cli (command line) isn't used all that often. Speakup is useful, you don't need a hardware synth to run it, though it is recommended that you do have one available if at all possible. I explained in another thread why I'm gonna use GNU/Linux. Orca and Speakup aren't perfect, but they are getting better.
I'll add a bit more, if I'm not mistaken, to write stuff for FreeDos, you have to use either C++ or assembly language. I'm unsure if it will support Python or any of the easier languages to learn.
Okay. I think you just helped me decide which language I'm gonna learn after quickBasic. Thanks.
Macro languages for DOS screen readers, like everything else in DOS, were proprietary. Once you install the reader there should be manuals explaining it. Please understand, I know not how to get this through your head, we *do not* work on any of this stuff anymore, ever. DOS despite the propaganda you sent, is way way way too limiting. The memory mismanagement is profound; the data in that article is not painting a clear picture and by your posts you neither know enough nor know how to look things up well enough to have found this is the case. You're not gonna find help with modern developers with these old macro sets. Find a forum of like-minded folks who can do this. As a point of comparison, when I got on this site, admittedly new to social networking in general, I posted a message about a few things I was interested in but didn't continue to post here about stuff folks weren't into. I went somewhere else for that; continuing to do so here would be fruitless. As to it being about accessibility, there was no 'accessible' in DOS. Manufacturers neither knew nor cared (save a minute few) about anything accessible. That all came along with your least-favorite and allegedly inaccessible GUI / the Internet.
Okay. For many things, you're right. I should ask on the DOS forums. But how can I ask sighted users about scripting for screenreaders? In any case, I wasn't looking for a tutorial. I just wanted to know if it could be done, and judging from your answer, it seems that it could. This is a very good thing.
how long do you want to stick with dos? for another 10 years? and here, you are talking about writing script for this and that, as to prepare yourself to be a programmer, as you said, just in case one day you will be a successful one. before you think of that, can you try to get use to the idea of windows or at least something that is slightly modern? lots of things you can find in search engin, if you worry about assessability issues, you can simply add in the word assessability in your search box. and you will be amaze on what you can find.
while everyone makes good points about her using linux or something moddern rather than fruitlessly, hopelessly, and probably truely getting nowhere with technology she doesn't quite understand and cant get help with. I feer she's going to stubbernly take this wrong path.
We see so many postes about you trying to get this old, outdated, poorly written, hellishly limiting OS where you want to take something more moddern and intigrate it with the os or you're stuck on something no one on here can or wants to help with. The world turns, people arn't interested in this old tech. it surved its perpous but its time to give it a good barial. its like a soldier using pre-cival war guns or someone in todays world using a horse and buggy to go everywhere (this comment was made in refference to modernized countries) or someone usingan old old old teliphone with the dile, or VHS tapes for everything... There is no support for this. People that now want a GUI-free OS use some form of linux where support and the os is free. Google can find your answers, programmers care about makeing things more usable for all and the learning curve isn't bad for moste people. these OS's can even use modern technologies.
in all honesty, you're trying to re invent the wheel in a much more limiting, usefull, modern, workable.... way.
I'm betting you would have much more ease with linux, it can doo all you have been dreaming of your perfect OS doing, its easy to customize too so if you don't like anything available its not that hard to make your own derivitive if you put the work in...
I'm not writing all this to flaim but to spell it out one last time.
If buy chance you revolutionize This backwater os and make it so that it suits your needes, chances are you'll still be the only one or one of only a few using it.
Just think of a list of things it doesn't support and how long it would take to modernize it up to everything you could wish it to have. This just isn't practical or really even reolistic...
oh, god, the spelling errors. and that was ment to be less useful not more.
sorry, haven't woken up yet.
The part that simply boggles my mind is this perception about accessibility in DOS. When I started with a computer in the early nineties, people wouldn't even help you if they knew you had 'special' software. That was just the culture, the way it was, and quite possibly made me into what I am now in technology. There was no W3C, no WAI, no Section 508 (these are all American and Western things sorry folks from elsewhere ...), when I first worked on systems I was roundly criticized for probably being in the way and not at all helpful, when I needed the slightest assistance with anything. Was this their fault? No it was just part of the times; the culture. In this beloved era, nobody did anything except for themselves when it came to accessibility. I found a JAWS for DOS 2.0 manual and read it front to back: and why? because I knew without it I was not going to be able to do anything all that well. But back to accessibility: Many times, you can make things accessible yourself. Google Chrome is a glaring exception ; the Windows browser at least. And by accessible, I don't mean conveniently easy to use like JAWS and Firefox or something; but at minimum usable.
If this environment you loved so much worked so well, you would be posting all over the place about successes. But as it is, your frequent posts asking basic questions which the rest of us would need the manuals to look up the answers for, demonstrates just how inefficient that environment really is, and nothing that Season, Striker or I could make that point more clearly than the content of your questions does.
To season:
I'm not programming for a living. And I'm using Windows right now but have no intentions on programming for it. Also, I'm not using MS-DOS for long. I'll be switching to something with alot more flexability and modernity. But with those advances comes worries of accessibility and screenreader compatibility. So once I do learn enough in programming, I want to help remedy those issues wherever I can, and if I can't, then I'd like to be able to write similar programs to counter the inaccessible ones. I'll stick with DOS as long as there continues to be updates and development for it and as long as I possibly can.
To striker:
I have a dial phone but have no clue how to use it so it's pretty much a decoration. and thanks for reminding me of my vcr! I really need to hook it up this weekend. I know that Linux has a tui interface and think that's truly wonderful. But it's also very complex and the concepts are truly foreign to me. Reminds me of Word Star and it's modern clones. Everyone says it's easy to use, but when I looked at the commands, I got a headache. Who knows? I might use one or both of them one day. If I honestly wanted to learn them, I'm sure that I could. But at this point in my life, they really don't interest me as anything more than a curiosity. I really can't think of much that modern versions of DOS can't support that I'd need, besides a software synth and better support for usb drivers for those times when using them is necessary. I would add the capability to read/write in Greek and to handle unicode, but that's already there. The problem lies, again, in screenreader support.
To robozork:
Thankfully, today's DOS users aren't that closed-minded. I'm sure they'd be willing to help and would like to make things accessible. But they probably don't know how. At the very least, I'd love to get a list of things that need to be implimented in programs to make them accessible to give to these programmers. It's not the environment that's inefficient. it's me who is lazy and waiting for the damned computers to arrive so that I can start on my adventures. I need a cd rom drive, a card slot and a tab key at the very least, which my old laptop doesn't have. It's driving me up the wall! The thing I'm really looking forward to is multitasking so that I can have a manual or tutorial open and work with it while I'm trying out given programs. That way, I won't have to ask you guys so many questions. I can assure you that once I do get everything set up, you'll be hearing far more success stories than questions from me. I've just gotta put in the effort as you said.